Stone Sour, the band fronted by Slipknot singer Corey Taylor, has fired guitarist Jim Root. Root is also a member of Slipknot and continues to work on that band’s new album alongside Taylor. A statement posted by Stone Sour said, “As some of you might have heard by now, Stone Sour and Jim Root have indeed parted ways. We were trying to wait until the completion of the new Slipknot album, but in light of recent events, we are going to confirm this information and move on. We feel it’s best for both bands and hope that is reflected in the days to come. We will give you more information when the time comes.”

Taylor said in a separate tweet, “Jim and I are still working together in Slipknot and the album is almost done.”

Root reportedly chose to sit out Stone Sour’s recent North American tour so that he could concentrate on writing music for the next Slipknot album.

Root spoke with us late last year about the difficulties of balancing both band’s projects:

“You know, when you’re in two bands like this, man, there’s some big sacrifices that eventually have to come along and there’s some, you know, kind of grown-up decisions you have to make and not all of them are gonna be easy decisions to make.”

News of Root’s dismissal from Stone Sour first surfaced over the weekend when a fan asked him on Instagram if he was going to appear at three U.S. summer shows that Stone Sour has scheduled for mid-July. Root answered, “I’m not in that band anymore. Not my decision. Not happy about it.”

Root was replaced on the Stone Sour tour earlier this year by Christian Martucci. It is not clear if Martucci will continue with the group.

Taylor and Root spent much of the last four years recording and touring behind three full Stone Sour studio records, including 2010’s Audio Secrecy and the double concept album House Of Gold & Bones.

The new Slipknot album will be the band’s first in six years and first since the 2010 death of bassist Paul Gray and the late 2013 dismissal of drummer Joey Jordison.

The band is rumored to have recruited drummer Jay Weinberg to play on the new album. Weinberg is the son of Max Weinberg, longtime Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band drummer.